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1907 Past and Present Biographies
Hon. Mahlon Head Click image to enlarge Mr. Head, now living in Jefferson, was born in Highland county, Ohio, in 1835. His father, William M. Head, a native of the same state, was born in 1808 and was extensively engaged in farming in that section of the country. In the year 1855 he made a journey westward by wagon, settling in Poweshiek county, where he was at once accorded rank with the leading and influential citizens. He served for several terms as county treasurer there and at a later date he removed to Greene county, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred in 1894, when he had reached the age of eighty five years. In his political views he was a stalwart republican and he belonged to the Methodist church - associations which indicated much of his character and the principles which governed him in his conduct and in his relations with his fellowmen. He married Margaret Ferneau, also a native of Ohio and a representative of an old Virginian family. The Head family in earlier generations was known in Kentucky, William Head, the grandfather of our subject, having been born in that state, whence he removed to Ohio at an early day. Unto the marriage of William Head and Margaret Ferneau there were seven children: Josephus F., who is living in Greene county; Mrs. Christina Smith, of Indianola; Mahlon, whose name introduces this record; Captain Albert Head, of Jefferson; Mrs. Sarah M. Wilson, of Montezuma; and Caleb A. and Aaron M., both of whom are deceased. Mahlon Head, whose name introduces this record, acquired his education in the common schools of Ohio, where he lived until 1855, when at the age of twenty years he accompanied his parents on their removal to Poweshiek county, Iowa. For more than a half a century he has made his home in this state and is thoroughly identified with its interests. For a year he was engaged in farming, after which he became a clerk in the oflice of the county treasurer, and in 1861 he enlisted for service in the army, joining Company F of the Tenth Iowa Infantry in the month of June. For almost four years he was at the front, serving until February, 1865. For eight months he was a private and was then promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, servmg for a time on the staff of General John E. Smith. He participated in the battles of New Madrid, Island No. 10, Iuka, Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg and the battle of Missionary Ridge, being wounded in the last named engagement. He was also with Sherman on the march to the sea and was mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, returning home with a most creditable military record, having done his full duty as a soldier. Following his experience as a defender of the Union cause upon the battle-fields of the south, Mr. Head became associated with the banking business of the firm of Mickel & Head in Montezuma, Iowa, where he remained until the fall of 1866. In that year he removed to Jefferson and, recognizing and utilizing his opportunity here, he established the first bank within a radius of fifty miles. The institution was at first the property of the firm of Mickel & Head, but a change of ownership led to the organization of the firm of Head Brothers. At a later date the business was incorporated under the name of the Greene County State Bank, with Mahlon Head as president, and about a year ago the institution was converted into the First National Bank of Jefferson, with Captain Albert Head as president; Mahlon M. Head, cashier; and C. E. Marquis as assistant cashier. In 1870 the bank building was erected. Mahlon Head of this review has been very extensively connected with banking interests in this part of the state, and inthe year 1906 disposed of his stock in three banks. He established the Farmers Bank at Paton, the Citizens Bank at Grand Junction, and the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Churdan. He has comprehensive and intimate knowledge of the banking business in all of its varied details and his careful management, keen discernment and unremitting diligence have proven the strong elements in the successful conduct of some of the strongest moneyed institutions of the state. He has also dealt very extensively in real estate, watching his opportunity for judicious investment, and he now owns nearly three thousand acres of land in Greene county. He has improved all of this, has erected buildings, has tiled the fields and has otherwise enhanced the productiveness and the value of the property. He owns at least fourteen buildings in Jefferson, his realty interests being extensive and profitable in the county seat. In politics Mr. Head has been active since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He became a stalwart advocate of the new republican party upon its organization and has never wavered in his allegiance thereto. He assisted in the incorporation of the town of Jefferson, was elected its first mayor and was largely instrumental in inaugurating the system of government and placing the city upon a safe basis. He has served for at least six terms as chairman of the board of supervisors, was the first chief of the fire department of Jefferson and active in that capacity for fifteen years, after which he resigned. Oflices other than those of a local character have been conferred upon him, and he has represented his district in the twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, thirtieth and thirty-first general assemblies. He was made chairman of the committee on banks and banking and has served on the committees on ways and means, appropriations, elections, constitutional amendments, roads and highways, military and judicial districts. In the house he has been an able working member, taking an active part in the business which is transacted in the council chamber of the state. He was a delegate to the republican convention in 1904 which nominated President Roosevelt. His course has ever been above suspicion, for the good of the commonwealth he places before partisanship and the welfare of his constituents before personal aggrandizement. His unbending mtegrity of character, his fearlessness in the discharge of his duties and his appreciation of the responsibilities that rested upon him were such as to make him a most acceptable incumbent in the office of representative and his worth was widely acknowledged. In 1865, in Powshiek county, Iowa, Mr. Head was married to Miss Mary L. Mullikin, who was born in Danville, Indiana, in 1848. Her parents were John and Amelia A. (Dugan) Mullikin and the father is still living. He came from Kentucky to Iowa about 1857 and is a harnessmaker by trade. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Head are eight children: Florence, the wife of Dr. F. M. Dean; Mary M., the wife of Z. G. Funk; Dorothy, the wife of T. R. Watts, of Grand Junction; Mabel H, the wife of W. G. Howard, of Des Moines; Mahlon, of this city; Vava, the wife of John Stevenson; Rena E. and Charles D., both at home. The family has always been one of prominence in the community and its hospitality has been one of the most attractive features of the family home. No history of Greene county would be complete without mention of Mahlon Head, so active has he been in its business and public life. He belongs to the little group of distinctively representative business men who have been the pioneers in inaugurating and building up the chief industries of this section of the country. He early had the sagacity and prescience to discern the eminence which the future had in store for this great and growing country and, acting in accordance with the dictates of his faith and judgment, he has garnered in the fullness of time the generous harvest which is the just recompense of indomitable industry, spotless integrity and marvelous enterprise. Honored and respected in every class of society, he has for years been a leader in thought and action in the public life of the state, and, while he is honored wherever known, in his home community, where he is best known, he has the warm friendship of the great majority of all with whom he has come in contact. |
Transcribed from "Past and Present of Greene County, Iowa Together With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Prominent and Leading Citizens and Illustrious Dead," by E. B. Stillman assisted by an Advisory Board consisting of Paul E. Stillman, Gillum S. Toliver, Benjamin F. Osborn, Mahlon Head, P. A. Smith and Lee B. Kinsey, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907.  Site Terms, Conditions & Disclaimer |